‘There Was No Time’ – One Metal Band Sharon Osbourne ‘Really Wanted’ at Back to the Beginning

The lineup for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning farewell show in 2025 read like a who's who of rock and metal, but in a new interview with Sharon Osbourne, she reveals at least one big name metal band that she wished they could have had on the bill.

As it was, the festival was a 10-hour event staged at the Villa Park stadium in Ozzy and Sabbath's hometown of Birmingham, England. The bill featured short sets from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Tool, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon along with several all-star collectives made up of some of the biggest names that were selected by Tom Morello, who served as the musical director for the day. Yungblud even won a Grammy for his performance of "Changes" with one of the all-star groups at the concert.

So what band wasn't there that Sharon wanted?

Who Else Did Sharon Osbourne Want for Back to the Beginning?

In the lead up to Back to the Beginning, Judas Priest were under consideration but had a scheduling conflict having already agreed to play a Scorpions anniversary show. At one point, Soundgarden were on board, but were not involved by the time the concert took place. And Wolfgang Van Halen also exited the bill just shortly before the event with a scheduling conflict as well.

But it was actually Megadeth that Sharon name dropped as a band she really wished they could have gotten involved.

"We really, really wanted Megadeth," confessed Osbourne to Rolling Stone. "There was no time, we couldn’t fit everybody in on one day. There were so many bands that were due to play that we just couldn’t because there was not enough time."

As it turned out, Megadeth were the lone "Big 4" thrash band that didn't appear on the bill. Osbourne did not elaborate any further on names under consideration. 

What Sharon Osbourne Said About Those Who Did Play (And Who Put It Together)

"Oh my God, there so many great, great performances. It was just overwhelming. Even down to when the drummers were up there, Travis [Barker] and Chad [Smith] and Danny [Carey]. Everything was just great that day," she beamed to Rolling Stone.

But rather than dig into individual performances, she turned her praise toward those who helped pull the event together.

"Without Tom Morello, without [Live Nation promoter] Andy Copping, it would never have happened," she shared. "Tom Morello was an absolute saint and he is incredible. His sense of music and of what’s right and what’s not right, he’s just an incredible person. He needs a sainthood. He is the saint of metal. He’s so wise and knows what he’s talking about on so many different levels."

She added, "Andy Copping, who has been in our lives forever too, from Live Nation, he is just an incredible music man. There’s not one band on that show that wasn’t a friend of Andy’s. Even though he works for Live Nation, a huge corporation, everybody adores Andy Copping. He’s one of the most famous promoters in the world. He’s just the best."

Back to the Beginning Is Getting a Film

The concert was one of the major events of 2025 and now in 2026 we have a full fledged concert film coming to theaters. As Sharon revealed in the interview, every act that performed is represented in the movie though for time constraints you're not getting the full sets from that day. It was recently revealed that 30 of the performances from that day are included in the film's final cut.

READ MORE: Ozzy + Black Sabbath's 'Back to the Beginning' Film Trailer + Track Listing Revealed

Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning will have a limited screening in theaters beginning on Oct. 28. Tickets are now gone on sale through the Back to the Beginning website, which will help you track down the locations of the theaters closest to you where the film will screen.

A premiere is taking place in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre tomorrow (Oct. 14) with a star-studded list of attendees.

Below, see how we ranked Ozzy Osbourne's solo albums from worst to best.